Nikhil

Compare how 'Charge of the Light Brigade' and 'Bayonet Charge' present a soldier's experience of
war.

‘Charge of the Light Brigade’ ‘Bayonet Charge’

Bravery of soldiers charging into their death – Soldiers individual fear when going over the top
“into the valley of Death”
Trauma and futility of war

Sacrifice their lives – “there’s but to do and die”

Throughout both poems we see the effect of war on soldiers as being heroic in Tennyson’s and in
Hughes’ the war not being brave or heroic. The soldier’s experiences are seen as futile in both
poems. They are both written from two poets who had never actually experienced what war was
like. In their poems Tennyson and Hughes present a soldier’ experience of war very differently.
Tennyson’s poem, The Charge of the Light Brigade, illustrates the bravery of the British cavalry in the
Crimean War whereas Hughes’ poem portrays an individual soldier’s fear after going over the top in
the front lines towards the enemy during WW1. The Charge of the Light Brigade is written from an
outsider’s perspective who wasn’t actually part of the battle whereas Bayonet Charge is narrated in
the middle of the action. Both poets use “charge” in the titles where in Tennyson’s poem it depicts
man men charging “into the valley of death” and in Hughes’ it is the experience of just one man
having nowhere to go.

The poems are similar in the sense that the trauma of war has a detrimental impact and is also quite
useless but they have no choice. In Charge of the Light Brigade, Tennyson describes the charge as
going into the “valley of death” and further on into the “jaws of death”. These phrases highlight the
futility of war as the soldiers are charging into their death even though they know that this is the
case. “Valley” and “jaws” both suggest the unpleasant surroundings of the situation that they trap
themselves in and suggest the outcome of the sacrifice they have taken which is eventually death.
Similarly, in Bayonet Charge this idea of being trapped is portrayed with the phrase “In what cold
clockwork of the stars and the nations… Was he the hand pointing that second?” This suggests that
the soldier is stuck in time and can’t get out but can only run towards his enemy. In Hughes’ poem
the bayonet used by the soldier is also seen as useless as he is running into hedges which are
“dazzled with rifle fire” illustrating that he is under heavy fire and he is approaching with a single
blade on his rifle and therefore more than likely sacrificing his life by running into his death.

The poems differ in the sense that in The Charge of the Light Brigade the cavalry of men is
highlighted to be brave and determined to follow orders and fight for their country. There are
“Cannons to the right of them, Cannon to the left of them, Cannon in front of them”. This further
makes vivid the idea of charging into their death and the futility of war. The soldier’s bravery is
shown by the fact that knew that “someone had blunder’d” but they still attacked and carried on
into their death showing how noble they are to sacrifice their life for their country but also how
useless war can be. The negative adjective “blunder’d” suggests that a mistake was made by
someone with more power than the soldiers who had to die and sacrifice their lives based on
another man’s decision. This suggests that the soldiers experience on war is worsened by the fact
that they have no control on their lives and their job is to protect their country but their country
doesn’t protect them. This differs to Bayonet Charge in this poem Hughes describes a reluctant
soldier who is contemplating what he is doing by running into his probable death and not showing
the heroics portrayed in Tennyson’s poem. The soldier is in “bewilderment then he almost stopped”.
Nikhil

“Bewilderment” suggests that the soldier is senseless and scared to fight the enemy and that he
doesn’t know why he is in this situation. This contrasts The Charge of the Light Brigade as the
soldiers don’t ever question their leader’s judgement and try to be heroes even though they know
they will lose their life.

In Tennyson’s poem the sense of the soldiers being noble and sacrificing their lives to protect their
country is clear and this patriotism is also evident in Hughes’ poem where the soldier first joins the
army but in reality in Bayonet Charge once the soldier gets onto the front lines he has a moment of
realisation and fear to continue his advance towards the enemy : “King, honour, human dignity,
etcetera … Dropped like luxuries”. This demonstrates the idea that once a soldier is in mid-battle
their heroism and bravery is released and they fear for their life. This contrasts Tennyson’s view of
the soldier’s feelings in their charge as their bravery and sacrifice is never disturbed by the possibility
of death and their heroism and bravery is portrayed as they sacrificed their lives for their country.

The soldiers in Tennyson’s poem are “charging” and “boldly” riding toward their enemy showing
their nobility and bravery whereas in Hughes’ account the soldier is “stumbling” whilst he “lugged a
rifle” and “crawled” which all suggest that his approached is being second guessed and not so
smoothly across the land which suggests that this soldier is using hindsight to think if there is worth
in risking his life. This shows the different experiences of soldiers of war with some having a do or die
sacrificial attitude to help their country and the other contemplating the worth of being heroic and
going into battle.

In conclusion, both poems seem to articulate that soldiers experiences in war are futile and some try
to be the heroes even though they know it’s a mistake and their end fate and on the other hand
some soldiers have a fear once arriving on the frontline to advanced towards enemies as they
consider the worth of going into their death. Both poets’ messages from the poems depict wars as
being unfair on soldiers and a place where they will suffer as they try to protect their country but
aren’t protected by their country.